China environmental watchdog is getting stronger

The newly created Ministry of Ecology & Environment will be tasked with cutting emissions and leading the nation’s fight against climate change, responsibilities held previously by the powerful National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), according to a proposal released on Tuesday during the National People’s Congress.

President Xi Jinping has vowed to punish polluters “with an iron hand” and Prime Minister Li Keqiang said last week at the opening of the annual legislative meeting that the country’s priorities include “defending the blue sky”.

The environmental reboot is one part of a sweeping regulatory overhaul that includes merging financial regulators, revamping the tax department and creating an office that oversees Xi’s “Belt and Road” foreign investment initiative.

“The most interesting move, and the one that bears the biggest international implication, is the merger of NDRC’s climate change department into the new Ministry of Ecology & Environment,” said Li Shuo, a senior policy advisor at Greenpeace East Asia.

“This is in line with the idea of consolidating power in one ministry for a stronger and better coordinated environmental agenda.”

While there have been signs of improvement, China is fighting a long war against pollution.

On the same day as the new reforms were being announced in Beijing, the city said its air was heavily polluted and has issued an orange alert, the second-highest level, until Wednesday.

China is aiming to cap its carbon dioxide emissions by around 2030.

It will raise spending to curb pollution by 19% to 40.5 billion yuan (RM25.11 billion) this year and aims to cut sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by 3%, according to Li’s work report last week.

According to the State Council on Tuesday, the new environment ministry’s new roles include: Integrate scattered ecological protection responsibilities; unify supervision and administrative law enforcement responsibilities; strengthen pollution controls and secure ecological safety; and supervise and prevent groundwater pollution, previously under the Ministry of Land & Resources.

The country also created a Ministry of Natural Resources: It combines the Ministry of Land & Resources, State Oceanic Administration and National Administration of Surveying, Mapping & Geoinformation with some area planning responsibilities of the National Development & Reform Commission; supervises development and protection of natural resources; and takes on urban and rural planning, as well water, grassland and forestry rights management from related ministries.

“It seems that a lot of capabilities were carved from the NDRC” for the new ministries, said Sophie Lu, a Beijing-based analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“It will be interesting to see if the NDRC becomes less influential in the future, as it has easily become the most influential ministerial-level department under the State Council since 2008.” — Bloomberg